Jazz and film have long sustained an intimate creative relationship. Jazz is a cinematic art form because it is intuitive, improvisatory, and embedded in the moment. The aural imagery of jazz is perfect for insinuating shifts of mood. No wonder jazz is often used in film scores. No wonder there are so many jazz interpretations of movie themes. The three excellent new albums discussed below are cases in point.

Thomas Kiss (AVLG) and Philip O’Hanlon (On A Higher Note) delivered a startling surprise. Upon entering their room, attendees faced an unsettling ambiguity: fight, flight, or surrender to the experience. Most chose the latter.

Reel Sound Distribution’s Jeff Garshon came fully armed to Tampa, with a Metaxas & Sins system that was both fantastic looking and sounding.

Recently, I found myself in an email correspondence with David Chesky, the musician/composer/entrepreneur behind Chesky Records and HDtracks, which was the world's first hi-rez music-download service. With his brother Norman, David has long run those businesses while engaging with his art. At the time of our correspondence, he was on tour with his jazz trio and busy "writing operas and children's works to keep me out of trouble," as he wrote in an email. Brother Norman, surely, has had much to do with the success of the Chesky ventures—I do not mean to give him short shrift—but it was David I was communicating with, so he is the focus here.

I’ve heard the new Oneiros speaker in three different rooms in New York City and thought I had their sound pegged. I was wrong.

Jeff Joseph's room is the hottest ticket at every show. Securing a seat is a yearly battle, driven by the sheer, undeniable magic of his and Nick Doshi's reel-to-reel system.

In one of Joe Parvey and House of Stereo’s five rooms at FLAX 2025, the Jacksonville, Florida dealer presented horn-loaded speakers and tubed electronics. Be still my beating heart!

Ofra Gershman brought an exceptional system to FLAX 2025.

Franck: Symphony In D Minor, Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande, Berlin Philharmonic/Daniel Barenboim; L'Arpeggiata: Terra Mater, L'Arpeggiata, Christina Pluhar, cond.; Malena Ernman, mezzo-soprano; Robert Simpson: Chamber Music, Volume One, The Tippett Quartet; Emma Johnson, clarinet; Raphael Wallfisch, cello; others.

The Cure: Songs of a Lost World; Michael Kiwanuka: Small Changes; Father John Misty: Mahashmashana.